The Truth About Forever
by Forever.Is.Yours
Summary: James has loved Lily for as long as he can remember. Too bad she hates him with a venegeance. And who's this American guy, Alex? Join Lily, James, and the marauders for their seventh year and watch as their lives unfold. Edited chapter 2 up!
1. Meet the Head Boy

A/N: Here's the first chapter of The Truth About Forever. For the few of you who have read this before, I have gone back and edited it. None of the characters have changed, however. Review! Second edited chapter should be up soon.

Disclaimer: If I was J.K. Rowling, one I would live in England, which would be awesome. And a dream come true. And I would be rich. And I'd be able to buy all the dressage horses I wanted to. Do we get the point? I'm not J.K. Rowling.

Title of the story comes from Sarah Dessen's book _The Truth About Forever._

I'd like to thank my original six reviewers who reviewed on my craptastic old chapters: LilyWinsor, Reeves3, shetlandlace, IheartJake IheartAlice, FootballChick12, and DiamondAngel08 - you guys rock!

* * *

The majestic red steam engine powered around the corner and came to an abrupt halt. Lily's breath caught in her chest as she realized this would be her last year on the Hogwarts Express.

Pushing her trolley forward, she began the incantation to levitate her trunk onto the train but her concentration was interrupted by a deep, teasing voice.

"Evans! O shining moon of my heart! Go out with me tonight?" Lily turned to find James Potter smiling at her, his hands extended in an outrageous gesture. His hazel eyes twinkled mischievously, his impossibly messy black hair flopping into his eyes.

"Potter. I see you haven't changed at all. Let me remind you that I haven't either. No matter if you ask me every minute of every day this year, I will not go out with you!" Lily tossed her hair over her shoulder and made her way into the train.

James turned to face his best mate, Sirius Black, and made a pouty face. "Bugger. I thought she would have changed her mind by now."

"Cheer up, Prongs! It's Evans. What do you expect? It's probably her time of the month. Girls are always funky during their…womanly time." He snickered into his hands.

Remus walked up to them in time to hear this last remark. "Sirius! Show some consideration for the opposite sex."

His words were wasted on Sirius, who was still giggling because Remus had said the word sex. Remus of all people! To Sirius, the words "Remus" and "sex" were never used in the same sentence. Of course, Sirius didn't understand that there were multiple meanings of the word 'sex'.

Remus shook his head. Would Sirius ever grow up? He followed James and Sirius into the Hogwarts Express just as the train picked up speed and swept away from King's Cross.

Inside the train, Lily managed to find her friends' compartment at last. As she slid open the door, she paused a moment to think about her two best friends, Morgan Hughes and Olivia Peterson.

Lily and Morgan had been friends since they had been in diapers. They had gone to the same preschool and loved all the same things: popsicles and wind chimes. Then Morgan had moved away when they were five and the two girls had lost touch. They had reconnected during their first year at Hogwarts and were the best of friends again. Olivia, on the other hand, had transferred to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons in their third year and the three had hit it off immediately. Soon it was if the three had known each other their whole lives.

However, Olivia and Morgan were as different as night and day. Morgan was one of the most outspoken people Lily knew. With her striking blue eyes and luscious dark brown hair, she was the most classically gorgeous of the three. Of course, she had to be a tomboy. As an avid member of the Gryffindor House Quidditch team, the beater was destined for greatness.

On the other hand, Olivia was the girl next door. She had big brown eyes and curly blond hair. She was smart, pretty, outgoing, and selfless.

Lily smiled as Morgan and Olivia finally noticed her standing in the doorway. "It's our favorite Lilykins!" Olivia cried. The three girls crashed into each other with big hugs.

They chatted amiably about their summers for a few minutes until Morgan absently glanced down at her watch. "Say, Lily, shouldn't you be bossing around the prefects right about now?"

Lily jumped up. "Oh bugger, I'm late. See you guys later!"

Olivia and Morgan exchanged a look. "Obviously she hasn't found out who's head boy yet."

Lily entered the prefects' compartment, breathing heavily. Nine pairs of eyes stared back at her. "Nice to see you finally joined us, Lily."

Lily's mouth fell open as she comprehended who was speaking. Turning her head slowly, she saw her worst nightmare come true. James Potter, all six feet of him, stood at the opposite wall, surrounded by the prefects of each house.

"Potter?" she said.

James crossed his arms over his chest. "That's me. And you're late, Miss Head Girl. So I suggest we get started." His smirk was barely noticeable to anyone but Lily.

"Right. Of course," Lily replied, flustered.

"Well, then," James turned to face the prefects. "Things are pretty simple today. Just keep an eye out for any mischief on the train and make sure everyone stays out of trouble."

"Hey Potter, aren't you usually the one causing the trouble?" Amos Diggory said with a sly smile.

James grinned. "Right you are, Diggory. But no one else needs to know that, right?" He winked.

Lily realized she had better hold up her end of the meeting. "We'll have our first meeting tomorrow at eight o'clock in the Heads Dormitory and every other Thursday after that. We'll discuss patrolling, prefect duties, and new rules then. Potter and I will patrol tonight. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their head. "Right then. You're free to go."

As the prefects departed, Lily snuck a glance at James, who was gathering up his things. She couldn't believe she was going to have to share the Heads Tower with him, of all people, for the rest of the year.

Oblivious to the world, Lily continued to stare at James' bent over form, lost in thought.

"Like what you see Evans?" James straightened up with a smirk.

Lily glared at him as she walked back towards her compartment. "You wish."

James shook his head as he stared at her retreating back. "I guess she's right. Nothing's changed," he sighed.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's kinda short. Next chapter should be up soon, though (hopefully in the next three days or so). I'm removing the old chapter two so for now there will only be one chapter up. A especially large humongous thank you to my beta ahrocks08!


	2. Of Flying Heels and Falling Towels

A/N: Here's the second chapter! It's been completely edited and changed, so I hope you enjoy it. Please review! I'm hoping people are reading - please take the time to review, even if it's to say you hate it. Again, thanks to my beta ahrocks08! Much of the chapter ideas came from her.

Disclaimer: I was reaching for the clip to close the potato chips from the chair, and I was about an inch away, but I couldn't get it. Then I was thinking, it would be so much easier if I could accio it! But I'm not magic, and I'm not J.K. Rowling either.

* * *

A quiet swish filled Lily and James' ears as the portrait door to their new home swung open. Lily's eyes widened as she took in the scene before her.

As was tradition, their dorm was decorated in their house colors, so everything was a striking shade of red and gold. It had several comfortable looking couches and a large table that would serve as the meeting place for their meetings with the prefects.

She jumped as James knocked into her from behind. "Oops," he said, sounding apologetic. "Accident."

As they walked into the sitting room, she stopped and turned to face James. "Look, as you've probably already noticed, I am not a huge fan of us having to share living quarters." She paused for breath as James interrupted.

"Living quarters?" he asked, looking mildly amused. This set her over the edge.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, Potter. I don't think I can deal with you constantly being on my back about every thing I say and do."

James raised his hands in surrender. "I was just joking. I'm sorry. Please continue."

Lily sat down on the couch and leaned back casually. "Did the famed James Potter just apologize?" she asked, giving a coy little smile.

James took the seat next to her. "It had to happen sometime, princess."

As quick as it had come, her smile disappeared. "Don't call me princess." Her tone was cold and harsh, immediately having its intended effect. James remained quiet.

"As I was saying, I'm not exactly happy about having to live with you. But, we're head boy and girl so we have to be mature about this."

"I'm not the one having temper tantrums. I'm perfectly willing to work things out between us. We could go from enemies, to acquaintances, to friends. Maybe even to more than friends, if I have a say in fate."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't get off topic. And I'm not having temper tantrums."

James smiled and crossed his arms. "Whatever you say."

"Okay, so if we're going to have to live together, there are going to have to be some boundaries." She stood up and conjured a dry erase board, complete with a set of markers. Selecting a blue one, she proceeded to document the rules.

"Number one. When I am studying, do not sneak up behind me, play loud music, or any kind of thing that might break my concentration. Two, always knock at a room before entering. Three, don't touch my stuff without asking. And finally, most importantly, the toilet seat must always remain in the down position when one is not in the restroom."

James couldn't help it. He threw back his head and laughed. And laughed. And laughed. When he was finally able to calm down, he looked up to see Lily glaring at him.

"What on earth is the matter with you?" she cried. "You are the most infuriating person in all of England!"

James sighed. He appreciated that Lily didn't run away, or start crying, or something else girly. It was something that he loved about her, that she never failed to fight for something she believed in.

"Lily, sit down." She sat, her green eyes still glittering furiously. "Lily, you're one of the smartest and kindest people I know. But like just now, you're going off the wall for me laughing about _rules_. Rules, Lily! And don't say it's just the way you are, because I've seen you with your friends, and even with Moony, but with me and Sirius, it's like we've personally done something to bother you. "

"That's because you have!" she cried. "You and Sirius are bloody prats all the time. Playing pranks is all in good fun. I understand that, even if I don't think it's a good idea. But you two act like arseholes to innocent people just for the hell of it! That's not something I'm even going to pretend to put up with."

James sighed. "If you're talking about Snivellus…"

"That's exactly what I mean, and you talking about him like that just proves my point." Lily said.

"Look, Evans, there's a lot about me and Snape that you don't understand."

She looked at him coldly. "Try me."

James looked at his feet. "As much as I want to, I can't tell you. It's for your own good," he said slowly. He knew she was going to be angry.

"My own good?!" she shrieked. "Oh, you did not just go there, James Potter. I think I, of all people, would know what's best for my own good. And the only thing you're protecting is your sorry arse because you and I both know you have no good reason to attack Severus all the time."

"Look, Evans, I'm not going to talk to you about this, but I promise you I do have a reason. I don't know what I can do to make you believe me."

Lily's glare could have cut through glass. "Try proving it." She stormed off upstairs into her bedroom.

Slamming the door, she fell onto the bed, exasperated. _James is so INFURIATING!!_, she thought angrily.

_You know, if Morgan and Olivia were here, you know what they would be saying…_" said the calmer part of her thoughts.

_Oh, Lily, you and James are made for each other, you just haven't realized it. But I think everyone from here to Beauxbatons knows he fancies you,_ her angry counterpart mimicked. _Of course they think I'm in love with him. It's their job to torment me._

She looked up at a knock at the door. "Er, Evans?" James asked nervously. He braced himself for the flying object he knew would be thrown at his head. Sure enough, moments later, he found himself ducking one of Lily's high heels.

"Evans, calm down." He knocked once more for good measure, and, ignoring Lily's half confused, half angry look, took a seat in her desk chair. "You need to stop overreacting to everything I say. Like I said before, I've seen the way you act around other people. But around me it's like everything I do and say is multiplied by ten in your book."

He took her silence as an invitation to continue. "Look," he said, seeing the anger in her eyes fading slowly. "You know how I feel about you, and it's quite obvious you don't feel the same. And I respect that. But I can't deal with this constant stress all the time. If we're going to be living together, you're should at least be civil to me."

Lily heard herself sigh. Deep, deep, deep down inside, though she hated to admit it, he was right. She looked up into his waiting hazel eyes and nodded. "I suppose you're right, James. But it goes both ways. You be civil to me and I'll be civil to you. Got it?"

She hadn't noticed his head snap up in the middle of her sentence. His eyes were wide open, and she thought his face was going to get stuck like that. "What on earth is the matter with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You, you called me J-James," he stuttered. "You never call me James."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Last I had heard, civil didn't mean first name basis." She stood up and stretched. "I'm going for a shower before we have to patrol," she said, walking into the bathroom, closing the door.

James stood up as well. "To hell with the two steps forward crap. This is too much excitement for me." Walking into his own room, he flopped onto his bed and was suddenly overcome with an urge to use the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Lily was enjoying the endless supply of hot water that seemed to come with the Head Girl job. As the water soaked into her scarlet tresses, she finally relaxed, letting the stress of her long day float away.

Reaching for her shampoo, she pondered how things had gone that evening. _Overall, I think he took it well_, she thought. Suddenly the water became freezing cold. Lily shrieked, and hearing the unmistakable flush of a toilet, shook her head in fury.

Turning off the shower, she stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel. Storming out of the bathroom and into James' doorway, she said angrily, "POTTER!"

James looked up. There in his doorway, stood Lily Evans, green eyes blazing, red hair turned auburn after a long shower. Rivulets of water ran down her chest, stopping only when they hit her only piece of clothing, a Very Short Towel. He gulped. "Yes?"

"Hasn't your mother told you not to use the toilet when a girl's in the shower?? Thanks to you, I was treated to a freezing cold shower."

"Well, when nature calls, eh?"

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," Lily mimicked. "Next time go somewhere else!" He stood up, watching her walk back to her side of the bathroom.

"Hey, Evans," he remarked.

"What now, Potter?"

"That was actually kind of funny. I think I'm going to like the civil Lily Evans."

"Well, good for you," she remarked. Grabbing at her towel, which had fallen dangerously low while she chastised James, she closed the door, grinning cheekily.

James sighed. Pausing, he suddenly ran for the bathroom, thinking that now was a _really_ good time for an ice cold shower.

* * *

Review please, or there won't be any hot American boys named Alex knocking on your door anytime soon. :)


End file.
